MNN Galleries

6 animal odd couples

67

9

43

0

0

Photo 6 of 8

Photo: Peter Greste/AFP/Getty Images

6 of 8

The hippo and the tortoise

Even a 130-year age difference can't come between these BFFs: Owen the baby hippopotamus and Mzee the giant tortoise have been friends since Owen was rescued from a reef where he was stranded during the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean and brought to Lafarge Ecosystems' sanctuary in Kenya. The frightened hippo ran over to the surprised tortoise and hid behind him — just as he would have hidden behind his mother — and, since then, the two have been walking and feeding together daily. They even have their own line of books and a website.

The hippo and the tortoise

Even a 130-year age difference can't come between these BFFs: Owen the baby hippopotamus and Mzee the giant tortoise have been friends since Owen was rescued from a reef where he was stranded during the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean and brought to Lafarge Ecosystems' sanctuary in Kenya. The frightened hippo ran over to the surprised tortoise and hid behind him — just as he would have hidden behind his mother — and, since then, the two have been walking and feeding together daily. They even have their own line of books and a website.